Warning after girl (11) followed

Police are investigating a report of a schoolgirl being followed by a man in a black car in Bourne on Monday.

The 11-year-old, who was walking along Mill Drove at about 4pm, reported being followed by a car driving slowly beside her, which kept stopping to keep pace.

The girl was walking between the junction with North Street and the turning to Northfields.

The man is reported to have sped off when a passerby noticed what was happening and went over to check the girl was OK. Police were informed of the incident at about 4.20pm on Monday.

They said the driver was a man in his mid to late 20s, clean shaven, and wore a black beanie hat and a black jumper.

He was driving a small black car, thought to be a hatchback. No attempt was made by the man to communicate with the girl. The girl was given safety advice by officers and all local police have been made aware of the incident.

Police said at this time it was not clear whether a crime has been committed but they were taking the incident seriously.

A spokesman said: “We advise parents not to panic but to give their children the normal safety advice about stranger danger.”

Officers have spoken with schools in the area to make them aware.

Anyone who witnessed the incident should call police on 101 citing incident number 289 of November.

Comments have appeared on Facebook linking the report to an incident outside Bourne Grammar School at 5pm on Tuesday when a car was stopped by police.

Police have confirmed the incidents are unrelated and said the car was stopped outside the school in connection with a series of thefts from cars. Two Peterborough men aged 24 and 30 were arrested and are helping police with inquiries.